Core Lithium Ltd (ASX:CXO) has completed the first sale of spodumene direct shipping ore (DSO) from its Finniss Project near Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The Australian lithium miner sold 15,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) DSO with an average grade of 1.4% lithium oxide for US$951 per dmt to several pre-screened participants active in the lithium-ion battery supply chain.
The product offered for sale via a digital exchange platform is the post-crushing DSO material to a P100 size of 6.3mm.
Robust demand
“The completion of the spodumene DSO tender is an excellent result for Core and indicates the strong demand for lithium,” Core chief executive officer Gareth Manderson said.
The shipment, sold on a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis, is scheduled to leave the Darwin Port in the late fourth quarter of this year.
The DSO sale will enable Core to put all logistics processes and procedures in place between the Finniss mine site and the port in advance of the spodumene concentrate production in the first half of 2023.
Capital-efficient
Core owns 100% of the Finniss Project, which hosts JORC 2012-compliant mineral resources of 15 million tonnes at 1.3% lithium oxide (Li20).
The flagship project lies within one of the most prospective areas for lithium in the NT - the Bynoe Pegmatite Field - and covers more than 500 square kilometres of granted tenements.
The project has excellent infrastructure, being close to grid power, gas and rail and only an 88-kilometre trucking distance by sealed road to Darwin Port, Australia’s nearest port to Asia.
The project has been awarded Major Project Status by the Federal Government and is one of the most capital-efficient lithium projects in the country.
Core intends for the Finniss project to provide the globe with high-grade and high-quality lithium, suitable for lithium batteries used to power electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.